Sheave mounting for drillers



May 10, 1938. J, A, ELMES y 2,117,084

V SHEAVE MOUNTING FOR DRILLERS Filed July l, 1937 Y 3 5 E192. V d? W 60 20,4 475 jj 60 V4 5 E d J0 i wiwi faul J5-il f -Ja Patented May 10, 1938 UNITED STATES 2,117,084 sHEAvii` MOUNTING FOR DRILLERS John A. Elmes,l Beaver Falls, Pa., assigner to Keystone Driller Company, Beaver Falls, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 1, 1937, serial No. 151,461

Claims.

This invention relatesto a mounting or supporting mechanism for the sheaves of a drilling machine, and more particularly to a mounting for the sheaves on the rear and the frontspud ding shafts of a shallow-well driller.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a sheave mounting which will absorb the sudden changes of force which are imposed upon both the sheave and the cable as a consequence of the irregularity in .action of the cable.

Another object of the invention is to keepthe cable taut so as to reduce the irregularity in the forces which are imposed upon the members which drive and are` driven by the cable. Numerous other objects of the invention and practical solutions thereof are disclosed in the herein patent, specification and accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diminutive, side elevation of a portable, crawler type of driller machine lprovided with one of my improved sheave mountings mounted on each of the spudding shafts.

Fig. 2 is a substantially horizontal section through the rear spudding shaft thereof taken on line 22, Fig. 1. i

Figs. 3 and 4 are Vertical, longitudinal sections through the rear spudding shaft, taken on correspondingly numbered lines of Fig. 2.

Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the rubber blocks used in the sheave mounting.

Fig. 7 is a diminutive, vertical, longitudinal section through the sheave mounting of the front spudding shaft, showing the location of the rubber blocks in this particular sheave mounting.

Similar characters of reference indicate like parts in the several iigures of the drawing.

The present invention is a continuation in part of my patent application for Supporting mechanism for the crown sheave of a drilling machine, Serial No. 137,298, filed April 16, 1937, which, like the present invention, relates to .a means of controlling the lateral movement of a driller sheave carrying a cable subjected to varable loads.

'The accompanying drawing shows the invention applied to a portable driller of the crawler type having a telescoping derrick or mast, but it is to be understood that the invention may be employed with any other type of drillers having a sheave which carries a cable subjected to variable loads. As here shown the frame and reciprocating mechanism of the driller is constructed in a manner shown in greater detail in my co-pending application Serial No. 120,422, filed January 13, 1937, and entitled Tool guides for drilling machines. In general, the driller here shown comprises a frame indicated generally at I0 suitably supported on crawlers indicated generally at II and carrying at its rear end .an internal combustion motor I2 which propels the driller and also furnishes power for the operation of the tools. The frame I0 includes the usual main sills I 3, front posts I4 carrying the walking beam guides I 5, braces I6 and rear posts I1.

The telescoping derrick or mast, indicated generally at I8, is composed of a lower section 20 into which the upper section 2l is adapted to telescope. 'I'he lower section 20 is supported upon the main frame I of the driller and is preferably capable of being laid back for convenience in transporting the driller, being supported for this purpose by the pivot I9, and is suitably secured to the main frame by braces 22 which are journaled in bearings 23 at the upper end of the front posts I4 of the main frame. Said lower section 20 is also braced by a substantially horizontal, tubular brace 24 which is connected at its rear end to an intermediate part of a main brace 25 pivotally connected at its upper end at 26 to the upper mast section 2| and pivotally connected at its lower end at 21 to the main frame IU of the driller. Said main brace 25 is preferablyintermediately braced by a diagonal brace 28 secured at its lower end to the front post I4 of the main frame I0 of the driller. At its upper end the mast carries the usual crown sheave 30 and the usual sand line sheave 3|.

The spudding mechanism of the driller includes a pair of walking beams 32 pivotally connected at their rear ends to a rear spudding shaft 33 and carrying at their front ends a front spudding shaft 34. Said walking beams 32 are guided at their front ends by the walking beam guides I5, and each end of the front spudding shaft 34 is connected by a pitman 35 with the crank pin 36 of a crank shaft 31, the latter being driven, under suitable control, to oscillate the walking beam assembly to effect the drilling operation.

The line 38 (usually a steel cable) passes from the upper end of the reciprocatable drill 40 over the crown, sheave 30, under a front sheave 4I on the front spudding shaft 34, and thence around a rear sheave 42 on the rear spudding shaft 33, $.50 and is wound upon a drum 43 which is used to l pay oif the line 38 as the drilling progresses, and is also used to` hoist the -drill 4I). Said drill passes through and is guided by the tool guide 39 described in detail in my co-pending application 55.

Serial No. 120,422 filed January 13, 1937, entitled Tool guides for drilling machines.

The present invention is concerned with the connection between the front and rear spudding sheaves 4I and 42 and the main frame l0 of the driller, and in particular with the connection between said sheaves and their respective front and rear spudding shafts 34 and 33.

Rear spuddz'ng shaft sheave We will considerate first the rear spudding sheave 42. Press fitted within the bore of this rear spudding sheave is an anti-friction bushing 44 which is adapted to both rotate on and longitudinally slide on the cylindrical periphery of a rear sheave drum 45. The bore of this bushing is lubricated in the usual manner, as shown. The purpose of permitting longitudinal sliding of this rear spudding sheave 42 is to enable the cable 38 to feed straight to or off from the drum 43, as the case may be, in the usual and well known manner.

Arranged within the sheave drum 45 is the rear spudding shaft 33 which is rigidly connected at its opposite ends by U bolts 46 to the rear posts I1 of the main frame I0. This rear spudding shaft is of rectangular cross section, as shown in Fig. 3, and for reasons which will presently appear, it must be so secured to said posts I1 that its flat faces-bear a certain relationship to those straight, winding and unwinding portions 41, 41a of the cable 38 which are located adjacent the rear sheave 42. This is effected by forming oblique end faces 48 on opposite ends of the rear Vspudding shaft 33, as best shown in Fig. 4, and so positioning these oblique faces that they lie fiat against the rear vertical faces of the rear frame posts I1, and are held in place by aforesaid U bolts 45. To prevent excessive localized strains in these U bolts 46 it is desirable that their bights engage with a cylindrical surface on the spudding shaft. To effect this result each end of this rear spudding shaft 33 is provided with an annular groove 50 having a cross sectional shape (in this case semicircular) corresponding to the shape of the metal of the U bolts, the bights of the latter being snugly received with the rear portion of said annular grooves as indicated in Fig. 4. It is preferred that each of these annular grooves 50 be longitudinally located in a plane disposed centrally of the longitudinal ends of its companion oblique face 48, but such an arrangement is obviously not requisite, and said annular grooves may be otherwise located if the general arrangement of the driller otherwise indicates.

integrally formed with, or otherwise secured to, the rear sheave drum 45 within its bore are a pair of parallel, flat walls 5| disposed parallel with the axis of the drum 45 and hence also parallel with the axis of the rear spudding shaft 33. The inner faces of these flat walls 5l embrace the upper and lower flat faces of the rear spudding shaft 33 and thereby prevent any rotation of said drum relatively to said shaft but do not prevent said drum from moving translationally in a radial direction relatively to said shaft. Because of the aforedescribed oblique faces 48 at the opposite ends of the rear spudding shaft 33, these two flat walls 5l of the drum 45 are disposed parallel to a plane approximately bisecting the straight, winding and unwinding portions 41, 41a of the cable 38. Hence the translational, radial or lateral movement of said drum is parallel to the resultant of thev forces upon the Cable P355- ing around the rear spudding sheave 42, and hence a maximum of lateral movement of said sheave occurs for a given change in tension in the cable 38, and a minimum of friction occurs between the upper and lower faces of the rear spudding shaft 33 and the inner faces of the flat walls 5l of the drum 45.

Interposed between the rear face of the rear spudding shaft 33 and the adjacent portion of the bore of the drum 45 is a pair of blocks 52 and 53 constructed of some such resilient, viscous material as rubber. The purpose of these blocks is to resiliently oppose forward movement of the rear sheave 42 whenever the cable 38 is subjected to an increase of tension and, at the same time, to combine with this resilience a certain amount of shock-absorber effect, i. e., a certain absorption of the power which causes the movement, thereby preventing the rear sheave from being pushed too rapidly rearwardly when the imposed force is subsequently reduced.

Any material which is viscous has the characteristics of a liquid in that it is incompressible. Hence the material of the blocks 52, 53 must be alowed to ow. Such a ow is partially taken care of by making said blocks 52, 53 of hollow form as shown in Fig. 3. In addition, the flat walls 5|, adjacent the upper and lower faces of said blocks are provided with longitudinal, cutaway portions 54, so as to allow the material in the central portions of the upper and lower faces of the blocks to flow laterally outward. It will be noticed, however, that these cut-away portions 54 stop short of the front and rear faces of said blocks, so that the latter are prevented from twisting or moving bodily upward or downward.

It will be noticed that the resilient, viscous blocks 52, 53 are longitudinally spaced apart from each other and are of unequal length. The reason for this is that, for reasons not connected with the herein invention, all power winding and unwinding of the cable 38 upon or off from the drum 43 is normally effected at the one end of the drum, in this case being that end of the drum which is opposite the longer block 52. Hence it is this block which receives the brunt of the lateral forces which are imposed upon the rear sheave 42. The other, shorter block 53 merely aids in keeping the drum 45 in axial alignment on its spudding shaft 33. The reason why these two blocks are longitudinally spaced apart is for the purpose of economy and lightness, and also to permit of a longitudinal flow of the viscous material of which the blocks are composed. To hold the blocks longitudinally in place, suitable abutment walls 55 and 56 are integrally formed in the drum 45, projecting transversely and inwardly from the rear face of the bore of the drum as shown in Fig. 2.

It is desirable, when the drum 45 moves to its extreme rearward position, that the cessation of movement be not effected by 'a metal-to-metal contact, as otherwise an irritating and unnecessary noise would result every time this occurred. To avoid such an occurrence, a bumper 51 of some soft, sound-deadening material, such as rubber, is interposed between the front face of the rear spudding shaft 33 and a flat, longitudinal, bumper wall 58 formed integrally or otherwise between the flat walls 5| of the drum parallel to and just forwardly of the front face of the rear spuddingI shaft 33. This bumper preferably extends the entire length of the drum 45 as shown in Fig. 2.

To restrain movement of the drum 45 in a direction longitudinally of the rear spudding shaft 33 and yet to permit of lateral movement of said drum relatively to said shaft, a pair of annular guide heads 60, 60 are arranged against opposite ends of said drum, said guide heads having hubs which are suitably secured to the spudding shaft by set screws 6|, 6| or otherwise. These guide heads may be readily removed if it is desired to replace or inspect any of the parts associated with the rear spudding drum.

Front spudding shaft sheave Ordinarily no resilient or shock absorbing connection is needed between the front spudding sheave 4l and its front spudding shaft 34. Under special circumstances however such a connection may be desirable and hence has been shown in Fig. 7. The general arrangement of the front, spudding shaft drum 45.I, the resilient, viscous member 52.1, the bumper 5'I.|, and the parallel, flat walls 51.! are preferably exactly the same as the rear spudding shaft arrangement, with only one exception, namely that the parallel, flat walls 5| .I are disposed parallel to a plane which bisects the straight portions 41.1 and 41.111 of the cable 38 winding onto and off from the front sheave 4|. In other words, the arrangement is such that the lateral movement of the front drum 45.| and its front sheave 4I is such as to give the greatest cushioning effect for a given change in cable tension, and at the same time, a minimum of frictional resistance to lateral movement of said front sheave and its drum relatively to the front spudding shaft 34.

I claim as my invention: i

1. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising: a frame and a shaft mounted thereon; a sheave drum mounted on said shaft and constrained to only move radially with respect to the axis of said shaft; resilient means opposing said radial movement of said drum; and a sheave mounted on said drum.

2. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising: a frame and a shaft rigidly mounted thereon; a sheave drum mounted on said shaft and constrained to only move radially with respect to said shaft; resilient means opposing said radial movement of said drum; and a sheave mounted on said drum.

3. A sheave mountingfor drillers comprising: a frame and a shaft rigidly mounted thereon; a sheave drum mounted on said shaft and constrained to only move radially with respect to said shaft; resilient means opposing said radial movement of said drum; and a sheave rotatably mounted on said drum.

4. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising:

a frame; .a shaft of rectangular cross section mounted thereon; a sheave drum having a rectangular bore embracing two of the sides of said shaft; resilient means opposing radial movement of said drum relatively to said shaft; and a sheave rotatably mounted on said drum.

5. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising: a frame; a shaft having a pair of parallel flat sides; a sheave drum having a pair of parallel, longitudinal flat walls embracing the flat sides of said shaft; resilient means opposing radial movement of said drum relatively to said shaft; and a sheave rotatably mounted on said drum.

6. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising: a frame having a shaft mounted thereon; a sheave drum arranged on said shaft and constrained to move only radially with respect to said shaft; guide heads secured to said shaft and bearing against opposite longitudinal ends of said drum; and a sheave journaled on said drum.

7. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising: a frame having a shaft mounted thereon; a sheave drum arranged on said shaft and constrained to only move radially relatively thereto; a resilient member adapted to oppose radial movement of said drum and constructed of resilient material having a hollow center; and a sheave journaled on said drum.

8. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising: a frame having a shaft mounted thereon; a sheave drum having an outer wall and a pair of expansion grooves; a viscous, resilient member interposed between said outer wall and said shaft in juxtaposition to said expansion grooves; and a sheave journaled on said drum.

9. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising: a frame; a shaft of rectangular cross section secured thereto; a sheave drum having an outer cylindrical wall and a pair of parallel longitudinal walls cut away to form a pair of expansion grooves; a viscous resilient member interposed between said outer Wall and said shaft and said pair of longitudinal walls in juxtaposition to the expansion grooves thereof; and a sheave journaled on said drum.

10. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising: a frame having a shaft mounted thereon; a sheave drum; a pair of longitudinally spaced resilient members adapted to oppose radial movement of said drum relatively to said shaft; and a sheave journaled on said drum.

11. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising: a frame having a shaft mounted thereon; a sheave drum; means for resliently opposing radial movement of said drum relatively to the axis of said shaft; and a sheave journaled on said drum and adapted to slide longitudinally thereon.

12. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising: a frame having a shaft mounted thereon; a sheave drum; a sheave journaled on said drum; a cable on said sheave having its straight winding and unwinding portions disposed at an angle to each other; and means for resliently opposing movement of said drum relatively to said shaft in a plane which approximately bisects the angle between said straight portions of the cable.

13. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising: a frame; a shaft having oblique end faces which bear against said frame; means for clamping said shaft .to said frame; a drum; means for constraining said drum to only move radially in one direction with respect to said shaft; resilient means adapted to oppose such radial movement; and a sheave journaled on said drum.

14. A shea-ve mounting for drillers comprising: a frame; a shaft having oblique end faces which bear against said frame; an annular groove in said shaft; a U bolt received within said groove and secured to said frame; a drum; means for constraining said drum to only move radially in one direction relatively to said shaft; resilient means adapted to oppose such radial movement; and a sheave journaled on said drum.

15. A sheave mounting for drillers comprising: a frame having a shaft mounted thereon; a sheave drum; means for constraining said drum to only moveradially in one direction relatively to said shaft; a resilient member adapted to resist such radial movement in one direction; a bumper adapted to resist such radial movement in the other direction; and a sheave journaled on said drum.

JOHN A. ELMES. 

